Container bottom structure



Nov. 3, 1953 G. w. LUDOWITZ CONTAINER BOTTOM STRUCTURE Filed May 27,1950 62-0965 ((1 lwow/rz,

Patented Nov. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE CONTAINER BOTTOMSTRUCTURE George Ludowitz, Los Angeles, Calif. Application May 27, 1950,Serial No. 164,790

2 Claims.

This invention relates to containers, and particularly to a barrel typeof container adapted to be evacuated by pumping the contents out througha pipe extending from the top to the bottom of the barrel.

Many articles of commerce are packed and shipped in barrels of varioustypes, one such article being lubricants of varying viscosities, whichare shipped in steel barrels. Such a lubricant may be the type used forgreasing automobiles in garages and at filling stations, the greasebeing removed from the barrel by the insertion of a pipe at the axis ofthe barrel and terminating adjacent the bottom of the barrel. Themajority of these barrels are of cylindrical shape with one or morereinforcing ribs encircling each barrel. It has been found that, sincethe lubricant is a heavy grease having a viscosity which does not letthe grease fiow readily, it is pumped from the center of the barrel,leaving a certain amount in the corner of the bottom of the barrel inthe form of a triangular section. This grease is actually wasted, sinceit cannot be pumped to the grease guns and it must be removed before thebarrel can be refilled. This cleaning of the barrels also consumesconsiderable time.

The present invention permits substantially the complete emptying of thebarrel, so as not to waste any lubricant, and thus, aids in the cleaningof the barrel for refilling. It may be applied to cylindrical barrelsnow in existence, or it may be incorporated in new barrels.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to facilitate theremoval of a heavy lubricant from a barrel through a single pipe.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjunct to acylindrical barrel which permits removal of heavy grease therefrom at asingle point.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved jointbetween a closed funnel insert in a grease barrel to permit the removalof all the grease from the barrel.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthis invention will be pointed out with particularity in the appendedclaims, the manner of its organization and the mode of its operationwill be better understood by referring to the following description,read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming a parthereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, partly in crosssection, of a barrelembodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a detailed view of the joint used in the barrel of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the joint used in a straight sided barrel,and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the adjunct inserted in the barrel.

Referring now to the drawings, a cylindrical barrel 5 has two outwardlyextending reinforcing ribs 6 and land a bottom member 9. Mounted on thetop cover In of the barrel is a pump II which will pump the grease fromthe barrel through a, pipe 12 having its intake end near the bottom ofthe barrel.

The barrel 5 is a normal barrel, in which has been inserted a closedfunnel-shaped adjunct l5. This funnel has side walls which taperapproximately forty-five degrees to the horizontal, and a rubber gasketI6 around the upper cylindrical rim portion ll thereof. This gasket maybe of rubber or similar material, and tapered, so that its largerdimension is on the inside of the rim ll, as shown at 20, and itssmaller dimension at the other side, as shown at 2|. The gasket istensioned outwardly when attached along the forty-five degree Wall ofthe funnel.

Thus, before the barrel 5 is filled, the funnel adjunct i5 is insertedso that when it reaches the rib l, the gasket 16 will conform to theinternal surface of the rib I, a portion being wedged between thestraight side wall of the barrel and the rim I1. That is, the gasketwill not only conform to the configuration of the barrel rib I, but willform a substantially continuous surface between the straight wall of thebarrel and the forty-five degree wall of the insert l5, so that the flowof grease along the wall of the barrel will not be impeded. The joint soformed between the rim I1 and the barrel 5, as shown in Fig. 2, is alsogrease-tight, so that no grease can get under the forty-five degree wallof the insert.

If the barrel does not have any reinforcing ribs, or the ribs are not inproper position to accommodate the funnel l5, then the gasket [6 will bewedged parallel with the side wall of the barrel, as shown at 23 in Fig.3. After the funnel has been inserted, the barrel may be filled withgrease. When the grease is to be removed, the pipe I2 is inserted, and,as the level of the grease falls below the rim I1, it will slide down tothe central portion of the funnel I5, so as to be pumped out from thebarrel. The only grease remaining will be a very thin layer immediatelyunder the end of the pipe l2.

When the invention is applied to original barrels, the bottom member 9can be eliminated and the funnel l5 welded to the side walls of thebarrels.

I claim:

1. A combination to permit the material in a barrel to concentrate in asmall area at the bottom of the barrel Where it may be removed therefromcomprising a cylindrical barrel, a. frustoconical element having acylindrical rim terminating in a free edge at the large diameter endthereof and a wall with a slope such that the material in said barrelwill slide down said wall by aemgsze gravity, said element beingpositioned at the bottom of said barrel with the large diameter anduppermost and having a small substantially flat area at the bottomthereof, and a flexible gasket attached to a portion of said element onthe outside surface thereof only at points downwardly spaced from saidfree edge and extending over said free edge so said gasket can adjustitself to different contours of the internal surface of said barrel whenpositioned therein.

2. A combination in accordance with claim 1, in which said gasket has anunattached loop over the free edge of said rim of said element, the freeedge of said gasket being positioned along the inner surface of saidcylindrical rim and terminating short of the beginning of the slopingwall of said element.

GEORGE W. LUDOWITZ.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberNumber

